An opposition MLA says frontline workers in Prince Albert are raising serious concerns about violence in public workplaces after meeting with union members in the city this week.
Nathaniel Teed, the Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Labour and Workplace Safety, said in an interview with the Daily Herald that he heard troubling accounts from workers during a meeting with CUPE members, including educational assistants who described violent incidents in schools.
“So we’ve been hearing concerns about workplace safety across the spectrum of public service workers,” Teed said.
He said many of the workers he spoke with were educational assistants who support teachers and students in classrooms.
Teed said some of the stories shared during the meeting were difficult to hear.
“We were hearing some heartwrenching stories,” he said. “One case where an educational assistant was bit so hard that she lost a chunk of her arm and was just given ice and a little bit of downtime in the day.”
He said other workers described incidents such as chairs being thrown at staff, fingers being caught in doors during confrontations, and verbal threats directed at employees.
“We heard about verbal and emotional abuse coming from students,” Teed said. “Threats that we’re going to kill you, we’re going to find your family, we’re going to drive by your house.”
Teed said the concerns raised in Prince Albert reflected a broader issue being reported by frontline workers across Saskatchewan.
“I’m here specifically because I wanted to come up and speak with workers,” he said. “We’re hearing these concerns to varying degrees across the province, be it in libraries and frontline health care, be it in education.”
He said workers in many public service roles feel pressure from short staffing while also dealing with increasingly complex situations in their workplaces.
“They’re experiencing absolute bare-bones short staffing situations,” Teed said. “They’re being run off their feet and they’re then experiencing the violence and the social onslaught of what we’re seeing in our public services.”
Teed said his party has called for stronger action from the provincial government, including what he described as an emergency safety plan for public sector workers.
“I think the government has a responsibility to come to these folks and have solutions to safety concerns that they have,” he said.
The government of Saskatchewan said protecting workers remains a priority in a statement emailed to the Daily Herald.
“Our government takes the health, safety and well being of workers in Saskatchewan very seriously,” the province said in the statement.
“Violence has no place in any workplace, and we remain committed to ensuring that employers are meeting their responsibilities to protect staff.”
The province said it continues to work with employers, unions, and workplace safety partners to support safe workplaces across Saskatchewan.
Workplace safety initiatives in the province are coordinated through WorkSafe Saskatchewan, a partnership between the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board and the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. The program focuses on preventing serious injuries and fatalities through workplace safety programs and education.
Teed said he plans to continue meeting with workers and union representatives across the province to hear their concerns.
“We hear you,” he said, addressing workers who feel their safety concerns are not being taken seriously. “We will continue to raise these concerns with the provincial government until we see this dealt with.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
